1. Technical Field
This invention relates to identification devices which can be fitted to a person, animal or object to permit identification and/or real-time location tracking of the same.
2. Background Information
There is an important need in hospitals to be able to positively identify patients of the hospital to ensure that confidentiality is maintained and that the correct treatment is given. Conventionally this is achieved using single-use wrist bands on which identifying text, or occasionally a bar code, may be written or printed.
There is a separate problem in many hospitals that the efficiency of staff and some common resources such as surgical theatres and emergency departments can be reduced if patients cannot be located at the appropriate time thus requiring staff to go looking for them and holding up other patients awaiting attention or therapy, or otherwise impeding an optimal workflow. There are also other patients for which there is a need to locate them for security reasons, for example if they should leave a ward unexpectedly such as new-born babies and elderly patients suffering from dementia.